I avoided High & Low for a year or so because I couldn't get into the concept of Exile tribe acting in a drama about fighting. Its kind of funny because a lot of people were scared of Exile when they first started becoming popular because they looked like they were in a gang. Most of the boys in Exile Tribe aren't what you would consider traditionally good looking. Some of the guys are really easy on the eyes like Takahiro but they have a tough image over a handsome boy vide. High @ Low's production takes the stereotype that was placed on them and brings it to life for a TV drama that spawned two seasons and three films which I have yet to see and might not ever see unless I go to Japan. Kubo Sigeaki makes his directorial debut by shaping the world of S.W.O.R.D for the cast that consists of mostly actors from Exile, J Soul Brothers, E-girls, Generations etc. Yamada Yuki, and Kubota Masataka are two of the actors that are not affiliated with Exile but are well known in their own right.
A great quality about this series is that they episodes are a half and hour each. My friend was raving about this drama a few months ago and I though it was strange because my friend can't watch J-drama where each episode is an hour or so long. He never finishes them but High & Low goes by fairly quickly if you marathon watch it. I didn't do this because I like to take me time. The storyline can be as simple to understand as sweet potato pie. A city called S.W.O.R.D was ruled by a gang called Mugen but they disband so the city is split into different parts. These parts are ruled by a different gang. The rest is just them fighting for honor and pride. You see the reason the episodes are only a half and hour because the plot doesn't have enough material to fill up an hour time slot. So they chopped up the content they did have into half and hour episodes. The films are basically background stories and a continuation of season 2. I couldn't help but to think while watching that this series was fan service for fans. From the soundtrack to the way Exile is presented seemed like a big music video with fight scenes and dialogue. What I did love about the drama was the attempt to give the character's some type of emotional depth so they didn't appear too secular. Every character had reasons for fighting outside of just doing it to protect their turf. One gang was protecting women from men who tried to sexually assault them by creating a safe haven for them to come too.( It was a club but we not going into that....) Another had a guy who wanted to preserve a place for his friend to come back to even though his friend has let him down time and time again. Watching this relationship unfold really teaches the viewer about the basis of friendship when its gone sour. A friendship can't be saved if the other person isn't trying to save it no matter how much you reach out to them and try to hold on. The character never gave up though because he knew that the other guy still wanted to be friends deep down. Their circumstances that led to the destruction of their friendship also was very unfortunate. I think of the series Crows Zero when I see High & Low because its very close in similarities. The difference being that Crows Zero takes place in a school(High & Low uses a school too but not for the entire drama.) and High & Low deals with a whole city.
Back to the emotional depth of the characters. I felt the relationship of the Hoodlum Squad and Rude Boys the most out of all the gangs. It takes a lot of flashbacks to really put you in the right state of mind where you feel like you know the characters. Once you get the a feeling connection for each gang you understand why they act the way that they do. Kubota Masataka plays the cool and collected smoky who didn't look like he wants to fight anyone unless provoked. Rude Boys basically consists of people thrown out on the street. I feel their situation and how they all came together to help each other under the leadership of Smoky. Suzuki Nobuyuki plays the leader or co leader of the Hoodlum Squad and he just wants things to come back to the way things were when Mugen was in rule and he had his friend. Too much is going on in the shadows for that to happen though and we the viewers are forced to watch as his character tries to protect the balance of S.W.O.R.D and restore a his friendship with someone who is into some pretty shady activities. They all act well together because they have a strong bond formed over the years in real life. I laughed and cried with Hoodlum Squad during their ups and downs. This experience beat the over the top fighting scenes any day. They weren't bad but predictable at times. Shit went down during the last episode of season one. I had to clutch my pillow while I watched.
I have to wonder if this drama was shot in Yokohama because a lot of the area looked ghetto as hell. I don't know how anyone learned anything at the nearby High School. That place was a reck with the smashed windows and graffiti all over the building. The business district(?) where Hoodlum Squad had their bar looked like a slum area too. A perfect place for our Idol gangsters eh? The fighting scenes were shot in a stylish fashion using up and overhead shots so the viewer can witness the action like they are watching from the top of a building. The camera man also runs beside them to make you think your watching one of this discovery channel specials about animals running in a group only its humans not animals.... With the way they fight at times, you can't tell the difference though. I mean this in a non judgmental way of course. Do what you gotta to do. My attention began to wane while watching them fight if it happened too often and as a result, I caught major ADHD and started singing or typing on my second computer. High & Low has the kind of story line where you can look away for a few minutes then look back and still know whats going on. Every scene is beautifully filmed overall.
High & Low can be defined as a good drama but i'm not jumping out of my seat for this one either. I'm not sure I would even recommend it to people who aren't fans of Exile tribe's music because the whole drama is like a promotion spot for their music since they did the soundtrack which sounds good and fits the drama perfectly. A person might become a new fan of them by watching this drama as well. I liked it as a time waster but Crows Zero does the concept way better in my opinion.
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